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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Isaacson report that President Truman did to decide America's response to the Soviet Union's possession of nuclear weapons?

2. Who does Isaacson report to have committed the U.S. to active ground war in Korea?

3. What was the document that Isaacson claims to be the blueprint for national security policy through the 1960's?

4. When did the Soviet Union begin its "clampdown" on Czechoslovakia, according to Isaacson?

5. What State Department official does Isaacson report to have been determined to bring the United States into a "Western Union" military alliance?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did the Truman Administration consider making an atomic arms control "covenant" with the Soviet Union, according to Isaacson?

2. What does Isaacson claim to be the North Vietnamese offensive that made the Johnson Administration realize America needed to get out of the Vietnam War?

3. How does Isaacson explain the changes in the military policy of the Truman Administration once it became clear the Soviet Union had nuclear weapons?

4. How did President Truman respond to the North Korean invasion of South Korea on June 24, 1950, according to Isaacson?

5. How does Isaacson report England was affected by the end of WWII?

6. What Southeast Asian country did President Eisenhower tell President-Elect Kennedy was the "key" to keeping communism from overtaking all of Southeast Asia according to Isaacson?

7. What organization did John McCloy help to form that became the precursor to the European Common Market, according to Isaacson?

8. Why does Isaacson suggest that Dean Acheson recommended Dean Rusk to President-Elect Kennedy for Secretary of State?

9. Why did Truman's most trusted foreign advisers, including Robert Lovett, George Kennan, Chip Bohlen, and Dean Acheson, oppose the formation of a Jewish State in Palestine, according to Isaacson?

10. What does Isaacson claim Clark Clifford wrote in a campaign strategy memo regarding the affect of the Soviet clampdown on Czechoslovakia on the reelection chances of President Truman?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Dean Acheson and John McCloy followed different legal careers to become very important influences throughout the presidencies of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman. Explain how their different legal experiences and connections led to their accessing positions through which they shaped policies from the 1930's throughout the 1970's.

Essay Topic 2

Throughout WWII Joseph Stalin was depicted in The Wise Men as an unreliable ally and he was considered a threat to American interests after the war. Yet when the destructiveness of the atom bomb was exposed, members of the Truman Administration considered making the Soviet Union part of a system of regulating the use of the weapon and even considered sharing the technology with the Soviets. What were the reasons for inviting the Soviets to share strategic information regarding atomic weapons with the U.S.? Are these reasons contradictory to the distrust that the six "Wise Men" had for Stalin and the Soviets? How so or how not? Did the eventual development of nuclear weapons in the Soviet Union act to preserve peace or lead to justifications for more military build-up? Explain your answers with information from the book.

Essay Topic 3

The Soviet Union was an ally of Nazi Germany before the U.S. entered WWII, but sought out U.S. and British support after Germany invaded it. Use details from the book that suggest:

a. American support for enemies of Nazi Germany was bringing America to the brink of the European war.

b. The Soviets would manipulate the alliance with the U.S. and Britain for their own benefit.

c. How the war time alliance between the Soviet Union and the U.S. foretold conflict for the future.

(see the answer keys)

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